I once described myself as the most optimistic man in...

I once described myself as the most optimistic man in America. Life has taught me to put my faith in the uncounted millions who may never run for office, pass a bill, or craft a sound bite, but who fight our wars and embody the ideals worth fighting for. My contemporaries have been called the greatest generation. It's not a title we bestowed on ourselves, any more than we asked for the hand that history dealt us in our youth. Now I belong to a disappearing generation, perhaps five million in all, forever bonded by the tests we faced so long ago.